Halo: A New War
by Thestootguy22
Summary: Jared Peloski working for ONI after the fall of the covenant on the planet sanghelios. His station is attacked and he gets kidnapped and has to fight his way back to safety from the terrorist group known as The Hand of Prophesy
1. Chapter 1

Nearing the end of the war against the Covenant a branch from the 'newly' formed alliance the sangheili had started to rebel against all forms of government, calling themselves the hand of prophecy, and leadership. Many proclaimed them as a terrorist group, they were denounced by the sangheili government shortly after their own raids on human planets nearly wiping the population of a city each time. They were smaller than the covenant was but held just as much power during this battle a man named Jared Peloski had joined the Office of Naval Intelligence(ONI) just as the war against the covenant ended. He was sent to sanghelios as a war strategist to help fight off the terrorist group. Lowly respected by the sangheili he was almost always discarded as an ally each time he spoke. His location was disinclined to attacks the ONI base was deep underground the sangheili unaware of the true base deep underground with just a modicum building with a few offices. Only major sangheili officials knew about the actual base itself.

Jared woke in his room which could be nearly defined as a house, he didn't find it pleasing about how big it was he had originally been trained to sustain some of the harshest conditions being an Naval Officer he was chosen to help assist the elites as he preferred to call them he sat up in his bed and stretched, yawning rather loudly. "Good morning Mr. Peloski a voice called, a small gold tinted AI appeared on his night stand, the AI has the ability to make themselves look however they pleased, this one wore a suit and tie, he viewed himself as a official and preferred to be considered one, rather than an AI. It wasn't natural for humans to have AI to themselves but because of Jared's position he was in he was forced to have him.

Letting out a sigh "good morning Cato" he let out. Jared didn't enjoy having him around he took the AI as a nuisance. As he stood up the young AI began to state the possible weather outcome along with his duty schedule.

After he finished getting dressed, wearing combat pants and a rather light combat suit, which he wore by choice and strapped on his ONI issued pistol to his pant leg and stepped out the door. A neural link between the AI and himself, spoke in his head as he got into the passenger seat of a warthog that was waiting for him the driver a UNSC marine "morning sir" the marine spoke loudly over the engine of the warthog as they drove heading through the small base to the building atop the headquarters which is below the surface. As the warthog comes to a stop he exits the vehicle and drives away. As he enters the building he's greeted by one of his subordinates "Sir!" He nearly shouts into the half empty lobby and renders a sharp salute, Jared returns the salute "any new Intel today lance?" He said undisturbed by the people around him, some being sangheili. "Mr. Peloski, you can't just voice things like that, you never know who's around" he heard Cato say what could only be as described hearing someone whisper loudly into your ear. Lance remained quiet not responding till they entered an elevator. As the doors closed Jared scanned a keycard in a small thin slot next to the buttons on the elevator opening a secret back door to another elevator to the bottom of the facility. Lance pushed a button and began to speak after the door shut "nothing to big but we caught word that the Hand of Prophecy has been planning an attack on a nearby city to the east, the UNSC have put more marines on that side of the base" he spoke not skipping a beat. Jared pulled a small tablet out from inside his cargo pocket "Cato pull up a security camera in the city." He said tapping on the tablet.

A camera came up, Jared changing through other cameras, some were down, usually because the people didn't enjoy ONI spying on their day to day lives. He came across one while a few marines patrolled the street, a young sangheili child came up to a troop and shook his hand, his mother came and pulled the kid back away from the marine. He scanned through more, finding a senghili arguing with a human. Followed by elites coming to break up the argument before it broke out into a fight.

The elevator eventually made it to the bottom and he put the tablet into his pocket and stepped out. Only humans were seen, elites were not allowed down there regardless of rank. Lance made his way to his own small office. As did Jared, opening the door to his office and closing it, the AI once more appeared on the desk looking at Jared. "What?" He said to Cato who turned to the adjacent wall and brung up cameras around the base "something is off, over the past day the activity around the ONI base has risen." He said Jared sat in his chair "it's probably because of the upcoming holiday, the end of the covenant." He let out a grateful sigh, the city surrounding the base was created for defence, many of the residents in this what to better describe as a town were people who worked for ONI as defence operatives

The screen shutting off Cato spoke up "your probably right" he said doubtfully but the AI has learned not to say anything when he'd made his decision. Jared logged into his computer and began typing up a report on the past weeks attack to send to his leadership. The Hand of Prophecy had attacked a small post far off from the city to the east which fell under his jurisdiction. There was a knock on his door and before he could speak the door opened as his commander, Chief Petty Officer Harden walked in, Jared calling to attention and saluting "at ease Peloski" he said, returning his salute.

"Im assuming you've heard the news about the possible attack on Silket? He asked he nodded his head "well aware, after i finish this report i was going to begin investigating and preparing for a counter attack, in case they do attack, sir" he responded. The Chief Petty Officer nodded back before walking out the door and closing it.

Eventually he finished the report and began analyzing the audio of the transmission from the radio that picked up the discussion, most was nonsense and code words some leading to amount of troops possibly to use and targeted areas. There was no date given but all they could do is send down the information to the UNSC post there including what to use followed by Jared's strategic advice for them to help counter the attack. After he sent it to the outpost a thud shook the inside of his office followed by screams outside. He stood up, pulling his pistol out expecting the worse. Cato shimmered on the desk "plug me now! They're getting in!" He yelled. Jared quickly pushed a button under his desk, a small circle of glass popped off his desk, he pulled a small chip out of the cylindrical glass, the location where Catos' chip stayed to keep secrecy of the chip. Jared stuffed it into his pocket and opened his door.

Jared looking down the hall to the left, then the right he proceeded to continue down the left side of the hall to the safe room. Hearing plasma shots he continued down the hallway into a big opening, the lobby, plasma burns scattered along the walls as he walked through bodies littered the floor mostly human with a few elites.

"How did they get in without setting off alarms?" Cato asked, Jared remained silent Cato understood the situation was still ongoing. He cleared the lobby, the elevator was destroyed. They were trapped, Jared continued to search through the area going door to door to find most empty. Reaching the final door before the safe room he heard yelling inside, the hostiles were inside "Cato" he whispered "still have access to the building?" He asked "already trying to access the room" Cato responded. Jared placed an ear next to the door trying to listen in but couldn't understand it "there's at least three inside, do not go in" Cato said. Jared took a step away from the door tripping over a filing cabinet, cursing under his breath he began to run down the hall the door swung open an elite took chase after. Faster than he was the elite tackled him, his head hitting the floor hard making his vision blurry, he elbowed the elite in the face striking his eye, screaming the elite released one arm letting Jared pull from his grasp. "Duck!" Cato screamed in his ear, just as he got down another elite took a swing just barely missing his head, just as fast he moved to hit an uppercut knocking the elite back slightly he turned and sprinted down the hallway he came from. Taking a turn he ran into another group of elites, two stood before him, both ran after. Jared turned back and ran to get caught by the other three. Jared aimed his pistol at the two and unloaded, their shields flickered but not enough to take the shields offline before he ran out "they can't get me Peloski, cole protocol" Cato said, Jared cursed under his breath again. Eventually one elite began sprinting and landed a hard hit to Jareds abdomen side, sending him into a wall he laid for a second before attempting to stand up another kicked his chest screaming in pain he received another to his stomach

An elite spoke in their language and the hitting stopped. Spitting out a wad of blood Jared looked up at the elites all wearing a light blue save for one wearing dark blue. The dark blue lifted Jared up from the throat trying to choke him. He began punching and kicking the elite till his body became too weak to move. He eventually began to black out.

The elite dropped him to the floor after he fell unconscious. The dark blue armored elite barked orders to the others one picked him up by the waist and carried him away.


	2. Chapter 2

Jared woke up in the back of a drop ship cuffed, his eyes were groggy and couldn't make anything out. He could hardly make out a few figures standing before him. He heard what to him sounded like incoherent gibberish.

Jared made an attempt to say something but only came out as a low groan. His sides hurt from the prior beating. One of the figures turned and gripped Jared by the neck lifting him up Jareds vision started to clear he began to stare into the eyes of an elite who eventually let him go.

Jared dropped to the floor coughing trying to catch his breath. "Why, why did you capture me?" he said angrily. The elite laughed "we know who your are. Why you are on our home world" the elite replied. Jared knew what he was talking about but refused to disclose any information.

Leaning against the wall of the ship "you wish, I'm just a lieutenant, the hell could I know?" he tried confidently. He received a fist to the side of his face "we know who you are. Don't play coy with us."

Jared let out a sigh both in defeat and pain he looked down at his hands in the metallic cuffs. "That's what I figured" the elite said turning away and walking into the cockpit. Jared looked up the back was empty. Jared had gotten weeks and weeks of training on being a captive, he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

The cuffs used were refurbished or destroyed ones that were either covenant or human. He could get out easily, he attempted to stand up his sides shot pain through him he fell over, making another attempt he got on his knees then finally stood up. He began searching through the inside the small transport ship, they had small crates placed on one side. He ripped one open and began searching

Eventually he found a small metal rod he assumed was for the ammunition in a spiker he placed the tip into a small hole on the cuffs and began jabbing the spike into the cuffs. banging it against the floor, the ships loud engine didn't alert his captors. After multiple attempts the cuffs finally broke in half but they weren't off. This would have to do.

'What's the next step' he thought to himself 'get off this ship' he began searching for some way to open the doors. Finding a button on next to the door he pushed it and the doors slowly moved down "that was easy" he thought out loud. The door to the cockpit door swung open "Shit!" he exclaimed before leaping plunging to the ground below.

The ground seemed closer and it was as Jared fell through the roof of a shack. Adrenaline rushing through his body he made an effort to stand but fell back down, his right leg had a small pole piercing his calf. He exclaimed before ripping the pole out and finally standing up and limping out of the shack. He was in a small town from what he could see. He had been taken far away from any support. Three Sangheili came to aid him but he refused and began to run away

Jared knew they were searching for him but he couldn't see them, running through the town he was grabbing cloth and covering himself to conceal his identity to his surroundings and those pursuing him. As he ran making a quick glance behind him he spotted a group of elites searching through the small but dense crowd. He continued running. Jared felt a hand grab the cloth he wore. He dropped his cover and limped faster. Eventually the hand got a grip in his actual shirt and pulled him to the floor and eventually dragged him along the ground. He threw his head back screaming in pain from his prior injuries and the damage to his leg. He caught a glimpse of an elite in civilian clothing, the one dragging him.

He was drug into a house. The door shut and all he could see was a poorly lit room. The sangheili had released his shirt and he fell to the floor. He coughed into his hand, blood pooled in his cupped hand. "oh that's not good" he said before laying his head back on the floor. He rolled onto his stomach looking at a family of three sangheili. He groaned in pain instantly. "Cato" he said, her voice spoke in his head "sir, protocol states-" he interrupted her "fuck protocol, what's broken" he said. She sighed "you've got a cracked rib and your left calf has been severely punctured." she said "congratulations, which one of you would like to operate" he said to the family. The older sangheili came and hoisted him onto a table. "I need you to carefully remove whatever it is sticking out of my leg. When you do so. Be sure to begin applying pressure to the outside of the area to prevent any more blood from escaping." Jared finished and the sangheili began to pull the rod out of his leg. Jared screamed in pain. The sangheili stopped and put his hand over his mouth "you have to be quiet if you don't want to get found!" the sangheili exclaimed. Jared threw his head back and he began pulling it out again. He suppressed his cries of pain. "ok, I got it. It's out" the black figure said. A sigh of relief came from Jared. "now my least favorite part. Stitches, I need something I can use as suture. String, anything and a needle." he said, the sangheili ran off. As Jared laid there he looked around the room. It was a kitchen. A little boy stood in a doorway staring at him half in shock and dumbfounded. "hey there little guy" his words slurred out of his mouth. He looked down at his leg. Blood pooled on the table and some began to drip onto the floor, he sighed and closed his eyes he began to feel weak and tired. He heard the sangheili rush in and yell. Jared last felt a jab in his leg before passing out.

Jared woke to lights shining on his face. His leg had a burning sensation. He looked around the room a laid in. It was similar to the kitchen but with bare walls and a makeshift bed of weird materials in a corner. He sat up and stretched, he took a deep breath, pain surged through his right side. "Cato, what happened while I was out?" he asked he felt a cool flicker in the back of his head. Her body projected onto his wrist "Your Alive!" she yelled. "you've been out for a few days. Don't do anything to extreme, you lost a lot of blood both between your leg and your lung" she said. "what do you mean? My lung?" he asked concerned. "your right lung collapsed and I had to help this sangheili here" she gestured to the doorway where he stood "to put a rather large hole into your chest" she replied. He looked down at his chest, a bandage covered his right side with a large blotch of blood near the center. "When did you put this on?" he asked either one of them, the sangheili spoke up "I replaced that a few hours ago the blood has reduced a lot." The sangheili approached the bed and stood at the end of it. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done." Jared extended his hand out and the sangheili took it "Jared" he said "Shar ta'ak" he responded.


	3. Chapter 3

Standing in the same room he woke in, he peered outside through a small slit of cloth, light just barely creeped into the room from the slit. He watched as the people below him went about their day. Shar ta'ak came in and stood opposite of the room. "I have to get back to my people" Jared said as he watched the street below. "You said your base was attacked. Where are you going to go?" Shar ta'ak asked. Jared sighed and turned away from the window "anywhere, I'm too far behind the lines. This is Hand of the Prophet territory, if they catch me, who knows what they'll do" he responded holding his ground he realized his hands had tightened to a fist and loosened them. Shar ta'ak took a few steps closer. "I can help, I have a few weapons, meant for defense and are old but they work." he motioned for him to follow, Jared followed. They entered a part of the house he hadn't seen before the room was nearly pitch black, he lit a candle and carried further into the dark room he opened a small chest and pulled out a small carbine and a plasma pistol. "I need one for protection but you can have either one" he said holding both out. Jared reached out and grabbed the plasma pistol. "I don't want to take your only protection against anyone" he said opening the top heat shield and inspecting it before closing it. "I will leave tonight, right after the sun sets." Jared walked out the room, Shar ta'ak followed him out. He approached a window on the opposite side of the room and opened a slit in the cloth covering it. "Still a few hours before dark" Shar ta'ak said moving towards the main room with his family. Jared followed behind him and sat down on a small cushioned chair, separated from the others, out of respect rather than prejudice. Still feeling like a burden and a risk he sat in silence as the family conversed between each other. Jared sat watching the child play with a small trinket. "Isn't it hard to see families like this, living in fear." Cato asked, her presence mad his spine feel cold. " _I'm not sure what to think._ " he thought in response. "How so?" she replied. " _Well look, none of them seem to be in terror or scared, the only one given it thought was the father. And even then"_ his facial expressions shifted and he began to have a blank stare. "Everything alright?" the father asked plainly. "Uh-of course" Jared stood up and walked into the kitchen. Standing by the table where he once laid, blood staining a corner. "I don't want to be a burden to your family. I need to get out of here as fast as i can." he said leaning against the table, to show how big these creatures really were, the table was up past his stomach. Silence filled the room Cato sent her general cold shiver down his neck "This would be the best time to leave. The sun is almost down, we won't have much to go off of to get out of the city by then." she said. Jared let out a sigh "i guess you're right" he said before walking into the living room towards the door. Not making eye contact with any of the family members. He opened the door, peering both sides. Before he could take his first step into the empty street he was pulled back inside. "That's how you get caught" the sangheili said closing the door. "Follow me" they walked towards the rear of the house. "Here" he said lifting up a small tattered carpet revealing a trap door. 'How do you get the time to build one of these, let alone the idea to' Jared thought before opening it "where's it lead?" he asked, "near the outskirts, don't think you're out of the city when you get there, that's the farthest i could go without risking getting caught." he said before closing the door on Jared. Dust settled on and around him as the carpet covered the trap door. "And i thought it couldn't get worse, it's pitch black. Cato?" he said lifting up his hand, her figure phased in, casting light on the walls around him. He shrugged "better than nothing" he said and began walking. "So now I'm an expensive flashlight?" she responded looking in front of them, casually glancing at him. He remained silent to her comment. Traversing the long hall took what felt like ages. The sand around them had been compacted but the lightest brush could send a substantial amount of sand to fall. Luckily since the tunnel was planned for sangheili, Jared could pretty much stand and not hit the roof of the sides.

Eventually reaching the end of the tunnel. Nothing covered it but a piece of sheet metal. The sky above the hole was nearly pitch black. He hefted himself out of the hole and crouch walked to a wall adjacent to a street. The street was littered with oddities of trash. " _Should call it the shanties the way how i see it"_ he thought, "well not everyone get the glory" Cato responded in his head. He began running alleyway to alleyway staying in the shadows. The darkness helped and hindered his progression, occasionally tripping over something either in the streets or the alley. He made it to the end of the road. Across the street perpendicular to the on he had been going across stood a wall, not a strong wall, but rather a well defended one. " _Man why can this be like them games kids play nowadays? The walls always have some sort of hole in them"_ he thought. Cato sent a shiver "maybe if you'd ask nice enough someone might help you" she said slightly annoyed "i'm here for a reason" " _alright scan then, please?"_ he responded in thought. "There's one entrance to the west of the wall. Granted it is the checkpoint but it's the only one" Cato responded. " _How deep is the wall? Can i dig below it?"_ he asked. She remained silent. " _Guessing that's out of the question"_ he thought and sprinted across the street into the ditch on the opposite side. Mud coated his pants. He shrugged it off, it was the least of his problems. He began sprinting to the checkpoint. Small lights illuminated the area. "There's only three of them from what i can tell" Cato said " _well it could've been worse"_ Jared thought. A vehicle came to the checkpoint, stopped, then was let through. The vehicle drove past Jared hiding in the ditch " _any clue how to get through this?"_ he asked Cato "well best solution is to sneak past" she responded. He remained silent in disagreement of her suggestion, sneaking wasn't going to work and he needed blunt force. " _Power of the plasma pistol combined with something heavy enough to knock one of these fuckers out should do"_ he thought and began searching through the ditch for something hard. He eventually found a rock the size of his head. He snuck up closer to the checkpoint, now less than fifteen meters from his first soon to be victim he charged the pistol. The bright green glow mad the elite turn to face him. But the elite was too slow, the green blast struck the elite disabling his shields and burning a hole through his armor. The elite stumbled backwards, the rock struck the elite directly in the back of his head, falling backwards like a rag doll. Jared struggled to drag the body into the ditch. By the time he got the elite in the ditch and covered another approached and called out for his friend. "Bad day for you" he said out loud. The elite turned to face him the plasma pistol already charged, the ball hit him before he could yell out for help, staggering back like the last. Instead of hitting the elite with the rock he used the carbine from the other elite to place a round through his skull, the blue blood from the elite sprayed against the wall behind him and the elite dropped like jelly. The final elite yelled for back up and rushed to the scene of the now two dead sangheili. Jared used this time to slip past and get past the gate. After hopping the small gate placed he sprinted far away from the checkpoint. Having to drop the carbine to continue running he kept his hand clenched on the pistol nearly tripping over mounds of sand and rock as he ran. His body begged him to stop but he knew he couldn't and wouldn't, not till he was safe. After running a great distance, he could no longer see the checkpoint rather than just a small dim light he began to walk and cool off. The star speckled sky with their moons the ground was dimly lit as he walked. "I made it out of there, now where to?" he said over his huffs and lifted up his hand. Instead of Cato appearing a map phased over his hand "we are here" Cato said. A red dot over a blue map blinked. "Head west. Around the mountain then towards the city of Bdaoro City. That's the rendezvous position for the attack." she responded. He stopped turned to face west and began walking. The direction was still away from the city so it didn't bother him. "I need to sleep, if at all eat. I should've grabbed food before i left." he said he went searching for shelter and a place to hide for the night. Over a half an hour later he found a small wooden shack that had nearly been blown over and covered by sand. He opened the door to the small shack and stepped inside. The shack had nothing but a bench and a cabinet. Jared opened the cabinet to find it empty. He sat down across from the door and slowly drifted asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

-::Sorry for it being a while since my last update, work as been a hassle the last few months, now that things are starting to slow down for the holiday season i can focus back on writing. Enjoy!::-

Jared woke in the shack by a slim beam of light shining through a crack in the wood. He stood up. His body still felt weak, he had taken a hard beating through the past few days. He stretched as much as his body would let him, grunting as he did so. He opened the door to the cabin and peeked out, the city was far away but still barely in view. ' _Cato?'_ he thought, a small chill filled his body, "Good Morning, we survived the night somehow." she responded "well it could've been worse" he said out loud, and pulled up his pants to inspect his calf, a few of the stitches had broken from last nights altercation. "Fuck" he said as he lowered his pant leg, he had nothing to fix it, he had to get to Bdaoro if he wanted to survive ' _Cato, how far away is bdaoro?'_ he thought and lifted his hand, Cato pulled up a map "approximately 10 Kilometers away." she replied. He let out a sigh. "Looks like we've got a walk" he said and began walking the direction Cato pointed towards.

After walking for a long while the small city peaked over the horizon, it was nearly midday, Jareds hopes spiked and he began running. Stopped by the pain in his leg he began limp running to the city, unsure what to expect after he got close enough he inspected the city, unlike Hilot, the city had no walls but seemed to mesh into the almost wasteland like desert. Behind the city stood a cliff with a sangheili statue carved into it, he cautiously entered the city. Almost like a ghost town he didn't see a single person till he made it to the center courtyard, where the bodies of humans and sangheili alike laid with plasma burns. Angrily he punched a wall. "What was that?" a voice said. Jared hid behind a crate, two sangheili appeared in the courtyard around the bodies. "It doesn't matter, just keep clearing houses, they're could be more." the other said, past the courtyard the statue loomed over and a door with markings Jared couldn't make out stood closed underneath it. ' _Must be a temple'_ he thought, "I'm seeing multiple heat signatures inside. Some are humans" Cato responded. The two sangheili walked out of the courtyard through an adjacent alley way. He emerged once again and approached the temple. He tried to push the door open. It wouldn't budge at all. More footsteps from one of the roads came closer. Jared had to think of somewhere to hide, with nowhere close enough to hide he drew the pistol and prepared to fight. Just as the sangheili made it into the courtyard he charged his pistol and pointed it at the corner, the split second he saw them he released the charge and fired a ball of plasma towards them, striking one in the shoulder depleting it's shield and searing it's armour. Above him a shot pierced through its skull, falling limp on the floor the second and third began blind firing in his direction, diving for cover behind the bodies he charged his pistol again. Once fully charged he stood up, aimed at one that stood behind cover and fired. The shot grazed it but hit it's shields. It dove behind cover "Peloski!" a voice behind him shouted. He turned his head towards the voice, the marine who had driven him to and from the ONI base stood in the doorway. Under fire he sprinted towards the door. His leg had given out, the stitches had torn all the way, he fell to the ground before the door. The marine pulled him through the door and shut it. Both breathing heavily he struggled to stand back up. "Fuck! My leg" he said gripping it, the mud that had accumulated around his pants began to turn red. "Were you hit?" he asked pulling him further in. "I need more stitches!" he said. "Get the medic!" the marine yelled. A female marine ran up placing a bag beside him. "What happened?" she said rummaging through her bag. "That's a long story," he said. She began sewing the leg closed "holy shit, how did you make it out of there?" she said before wrapping it up. "Best way to put it is fucking magic" he said.

A cold shiver ran down his spine "what Cato" he said aloud lifting his hand up. Cameras outside show they're forming up to break through that door. "Well luckily that door is pretty thick stone." The marine that drove him said. "Don't think so quick" Jared said. "Thickness doesn't mean shit if they have the firepower" he finished. He sat up. "Who's in charge?" he asked. "Well it was me, sir, but now it's you" the medic said. Jared cursed in his head. "Alright, when i was out there someone shot one of em after I fired my pistol, where did that come from?" he asked, "there's a balcony we have a sniper hiding from to keep a lookout. "How many people could fit up there?" he stood up looking for the way up. "Possibly four or five people? Why" one asked. "We need to get marines up there, before they break through. Get on it" he sent the driver off. He turned to face the group of civilians and marines. Scanning through the group he spotted three sangheili wearing elite armour. "What happened here?" he asked the group, one of the sangheili in armour spoke up "they came out of nowhere, they started killing before we had time to react" he finished. Jared let out a sigh "are you armed" he asked the three. They nodded. "Well today is your lucky day, you're the front line down here, guard the civilians." he said, they grabbed their rifles, two had plasma rifles and the other a carbine, and stood behind pillars watching the door. "The rest of you, find a place to hide from the fire." he said, ' _how many are out there?'_ he thought, "ten so far, they're getting as many as they can for the assault" Cato spoke into his ear. He made his way up the stairs to the balcony, where five marines crouched behind the balcony's railing. "Do any of you have grenades?" he whispered. Two nodded back. "Be ready to throw those when the time comes, take out as many as possible with them. Level the playing field." the two nodded. Jared peeked over and saw the number had grown to just under fifteen. They weren't close enough for the grenades to be effective. "Once they get bunched up throw them." they pulled the pins and help the spoon peeking over to watch them.

A six of them grouped up to prepare to blow the door open, one holding a fusion rod cannon. One threw their grenade at the group, hitting the ground the group looked down at the grenade, before they could react the grenade detonated and killed four and wounded two others. The other marine threw theirs between a spaced out group of five, detonating destroying their shields and sending them flying into the buildings around them and others into the courtyard. "Open fire!" Jared yelled, the five popped their heads over the rail and began shooting into the seven to eight left standing, more sangheili entered the courtyard and began to shoot the balcony, injuring one marine. Jared picked up the wounded marines DMR and began shooting, Jared wasn't an expert shot but he was making fairly good shoots, hitting their chests or getting lucky headshots. One made a break for the fusion cannon, Jared tried to shoot the sangheili, taking out it's shield it reached the cannon, before he could stop him, it fired the cannon and blew the door open. "Don't let them get inside!" Jared yelled. Blue blobs of plasma and green streaks came out from below them, some striking their targets. It was blind fire. Less and less came, eventually the fight was over. The Hand of Prophecy marines laid strewn in the courtyard. Rain began to softly come down over the courtyard, red blood from the humans executed mixed with the fresh blue blood from the sangheili. Two marines carried the wounded down, the medic rushed in and started to assist the wounded marine. "Is everyone alright down here?" Jared said aloud. "All of the civilians are ok, sir." a marine came up to him and said. "And the three elites?" he questioned. The marines expression changed. "One didn't make it, the other two were left wounded, sir" he responded. "Has the medic administered aid?" he said walking towards the downed elites. He didn't need a response to see the bandages around one's arm and one with their helmet off and a makeshift eye patch over it. Both stood, ' _interesting how despite many sangheili hating humans, some still give respect'_ he thought, cato gave a shiver in agreement. "You fought well. I thank you for your assistance in protecting the civilians." he said to them in which both nodded. "Where is the base here? I need to get a message out to my people" Jared asked them. "The base was destroyed, nothing left" one responded. Jared sighed and took a step outside the temple and inspected the bodies, the blood nearly washed away and the soil was muddy. The rain felt good on his skin, he could feel the dirt and grime that had covered his face through the past few days wash away. The driver came out and stood by him. "What are we going to do now?" he asked. Jared turned to him, anger in his eyes "we fight back, like the human race has always done." he said. He turned to walk back in the temple, facing the civilians. "This was your home, and they came and took your family and friends, and executed them in broad daylight. I don't know about you but I'm pretty pissed off" he paused and scanned the group, many were female sangheili and children with a few males. "This should be the pinnacle of making the decision on whose side you're on." some that were cowering behind objects stood, seeming more determined. "It's time to take back your home" he said. The two elites stood behind him. Jared turned to face the two who were nearly twice the size of him alone. "We will fight" they both said nearly in sync. Jared nodded and turned to the civilians. Many were ready, others were scared.

The ones who volunteered, which were majorly the males were handed the weapons from the fallen enemies from outside. Helping set up a base of operation inside this small city wasn't the best location but it was what they had. A flicker like feeling went through Jareds brain. ' _I know what you're going to say'_ he thought as he helped them move the bodies out of the courtyard and into a mass grave. "You know you can't do this, ONI-" Jared cut her off "does it look like i care? In the past three days I've been shown the true side of this fight, it's time we actually do something rather than just wait it out." he finished, she remained silent, Jared looked around and noticed everyone was staring at him, the moment he realized they all went back to work as if it never happened. ' _What i want you to do is help me get this whole thing dealt with, you're on my side, forget ONI. They've failed these people, and now it's our time to start fighting'_ he thought, she remained silent, then he felt a shiver. "It's time to become the resistance," he said, the sun started to set on the small city.


	5. Chapter 5

Jared watched as Joro 'Vantak, now his second in command, one of the Elites worked to set up a comms array. "How long do you think this will take?" Jared asked as the Elite focused on his task, he received no response. He shrugged it off and turned to face out of the tower it had been a few days since the attack in the temple. He'd gained recognition from nearing colonies and other resistance groups. They were trying to get communications from said resistance groups. "Commander, the array is working but the signal is weak" the Elite said. Jared wasn't mad at being called commander but he didn't earn the rank. It was handed to him by the populi he watched over.

Jared picked the microphone up and spoke into it. "Vuto 'Gozamee. Are you there?" He said nearly butchering the name. The radio crackled and no response came through. He said it again hoping they would respond. He set down the microphone "let me know if you hear anything" he said to one of the Elites. And left the tower

Stepping out he breathed in and let it out. The courtyard smelt less rancid than it had before. Children ran past him and then a group of patrolling marines. "Morning sir!" One said as they walked past. He walked towards the border they had set up to protect against The Hand of Prophecy "anyone come by or enter?" He asked the volunteered sangheili who watched the gate. "Nothing has shown up since yesterday, were expecting another supply transport soon though." The sangheili said. "I want to speak with them when they come" he said looking out into the sandy wasteland with cliffs of sandstone riddling the area, the sun just before setting on the horizon.

After leaving the post the sangheili stood at he found himself back at the temple. Just outside stood a group of marines "sir! We need to talk to you" one of them said as he walked closer "make it quick" he said. They entered the temple which was being used as triage "one of our guys got injured while we were out on our last mission. Our next one is recon of their stronghold in Chaura. But we need one more person to go with us, do you have any recommendations?" The marine said placing his hands behind his back. Jared shrugged "I'll go. It's been a while since I left home base" Jared said adjusting his belt carrying his pistol holster. "It's just a simple recon mission so it shouldn't be bad." The marine said. His fellow marines looked at each other. "Briefing is at 0400 tomorrow morning sir." He said before saluting and turning to face his marines.

A sangheili who volunteered to join his group came running up. "Sir!" The young sangheili said. His youth showed he hadn't learned the same way the Elites had, or known their ways. Jared turned to face him. "We have radio communications up" he said trying to catch his breath. "Why are you out of breath? Is it that urgent, I just wanted to know when we could talk with the others" Jared said placing a hand on him. "It's not that sir." He took a gasp of air "it's who is on it," he responded. Jared's heart stopped.

After reaching the tower Jared saw Joro 'Vantak listening to a small speaker. Beside the microphone "do they know we can hear them?" He asked the Elite, he shook his head "they said something over the radio. I responded but whilst trying to hail Vuto 'Gozamee they stated who they were and to respond. They dismissed me and began speaking again." the Elite said and went back to listening. "I say this might be a good break for us" Jared said crossing his arms. "All is fair in love and war" Cato echoed through his head. He smirked 'stay focused on the radio' he thought in response. 'I want to know what's said and if it could be beneficial to us' he finished. "Please don't do that, it makes me uncomfortable" the Elite said, breaking his train of thought. "What?" He replied. "You're talking to your AI and it makes many of us uncomfortable" he responded "uncomfortable how?" She sent a chill down his spine. He shuttered making it obvious she spoke to him. "I'll keep it away from being noticed as much as possible" he said before leaving the tower. "I can't not do what I was created for" she said to him. 'No, but I can tell you to behave more' he thought making small gestures as he walked down an alley. He felt a chill down his back followed by silence, he let out a sigh and kept walking. Jared walked into the house he was staying at. Staying inside could pass as a shanty town itself, the downstairs was crowded with soldiers. All of which were resting or finding ways to keep themselves entertained. Jared walked up the stairs to the second and onto the third, the floor was a single hallway with doors lining each side, he walked towards the end and opened the 3rd door on the left, which was claimed as his own room, he sat down on his bed and pulled out a data pad, a picture popped up on the main screen, a small group of people sat at a table, raising glasses and staring at the camera, in the center sat a much visibly younger Jared. He focused on the picture "there's no way they made it out alive" Cato said, forming herself on the small desk adjacent to the bed. Setting the pad down he looked at her "You don't know that, they could've made it out." he said getting agitated. "Jared you saw two of them on the floor before you got knocked out, there's been no chatter about Liam or Sarah. They're gone" she said, her voice calm but angry. He let out a sigh and laid down on the bed, "optimism is all I've got to run on. So that sliver you want to burn out isn't going to happen." he said and closed his eyes, hoping she would just leave it be "not that I don't want to burn it out but because I'd rather have that hope not crash and burn if they are gone when we need that bit of hope in a situation" she said before fading out and falling silent. He ignored the response and attempted to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

-::Sorry for the long wait. The quarantine has definitely helped me finish this chapter. Hopefully I can get the next out just as fast::-

Waking up before anyone else like he had been for the past few days, Jared sat up and stretched. He stood up and yawned before peering through the window that was close to the makeshift night stand. Darkness loomed over what he could see, though faint light filled a corner of the city square, the meeting point for the recon group. He threw on his jacket and left the room, entering the ground floor the once lively and wild room now remained nearly silent save for the few whispers between people working on shifts, getting supplies or taking a break themselves. He slowly closed the door and made his way through the alleyway that led to the center of town, the same alley he'd taken just days before, nearly saving the people of this city.

As he entered the city square he could make out 4 marines huddled around a small smoldering fire. "Good to see you sir" one said in a low tone, putting his hand out, the others remained silent and watched as Jared shook the marines hand. "Sargent Englewood, sir," the man said as they shook. "All five of us are here. Formalities?" The Sargent continued. "Corporal Barnes" one sat up from the wall he was laying against, his face illuminated by the weak fire before them all, showing scars from past skirmishes. "He was the sniper up on that balcony that day, he saved your ass" one sitting on top of a ledge said. The marines chuckled, "Corporal Dwight, I'm his wing-man." He said pointing towards Barnes. "That over there is Specialist Cook and Private Nelson. Both were once army toppers but have seen enough to treat 'em as marines in my book." Englewood finished. "Interesting to see the Army with Marines." Jared stated as he moved closer and crouched down by the fire, soaking in what little heat it gave off. "After the attack everyone fell into disarray, so I grabbed both of them and a few others. Hoping I could get them out alive, despite my best efforts, these few good men and some others are all I could get out." He responded, not looking away from the fire. His eyes glazed over. The pain reflected in his eyes. "You did what you could. And because of who you did save, we're still alive today" Jared said. Sargent Englewood stood up and readjusted his helmet "as much as this wonderful conversation is, it's time to get to business" he said pulling a knife out from behind him. "It's simple enough, unlike here, there are trees surrounding the area that we can use as cover and concealment. The plan for infill is the same as usual, clear out a section, silent and quick and investigate, any evidence of us or anything to help turn the tides of the war." he continued, drawing a small outline of a square. "The least fortified position is to the western side of the city." He said drawing a cross on the square to one of the corners of the square, He stood up and put his knife behind him, sheathing it. "We head out in fifteen, be ready. This is a stealth operation, get what you need and meet at the front gate." he finished.

Cook handed Jared a BR55 battle rifle, and an M6G pistol. Inspecting the weapon he placed the pistol on his leg strap and the battle rifles strap around his neck. The specialist handed him a pack full of ammunition as well as supplies. "Can't have too much," he said. Accepting the pack and placing it on his back, he nodded to the young man and made his way to the front gate. " _I know it'd be best to leave me behind for the sake of not letting me fall into the wrong hands but you don't have much of a choice_ " Cato said, her voice echoing around in his skull. 'I wasn't planning on it, you can get us inside a lot easier if you're able to see our enemies for us, help us plan a route' he thought as he walked through the dimly lit streets, the sun's light had broken the horizon but not the sun itself. He took a deep breath as he made his way into the opening near the gate. A transport Warthog with it's engine running beside the gate. Two of them threw bags into the back and hopped in. The sergeant stood beside Jared and sighed, "seems like you've had these kinds of missions before?" Jared asked. They both began walking towards the Warthog "not as often as we are getting them now, before we would get simple missions to patrol or doing police work, boring usual shit." he paused "now that we've fallen under your jurisdiction, we have gotten the ability to go and properly conduct these missions and more, making the tides of this war shift greatly. At Least from our standpoint" he finished as they made it to the Warthog, both threw their gear in the back and loaded up. Jared sat in the back with Cook, Nelson, and Barnes while Sargent Englewood drove and Dwight sat passenger. "It'll more than likely be just before sunset when we get to the outskirts of Chaura." the Sargent said before pulling out of the gate and speeding into the canyons.

Hours later, just as expected, the sun was close to setting, the drive felt only a few hours instead of the nearly twelve it actually was. "Suit up and get ready for the recon phase" Jared heard from the front of the Warthog. He turned around and grabbed the helmet he had been leaning against as a head rest, and put it on. Jared got out of the Warthog and loaded his rifle. "Start covering the hog in foliage to conceal it, prevent it from being seen" Barnes said as he hopped out and loaded his sniper rifle, the metal clanged together as he loaded a round. "Barnes and Dwight will provide oversight as we begin our infiltration plan." Englewood said looking at the two then nodding. "Cato will be linked between comms to keep you two informed on enemy locations" James said, Cato responded by sending a chill down his back. "My scans are showing that the western side is about to have a shift change." Cato said. The two ran deeper into the woods, disappearing within seconds. "After they change, that'll be our que." Englewood said and started to make his way towards the edge of the city, Jared, Cook, and Nelson followed suit.

Reaching the outer rim of the city, the challenge became more apparent. Shanty towns stretched into the woods. It would make them more visible. "So long as we stick to the shadows and stay away from the mass public, we should be able to make our way to the inner parts" Cook whispered to the others. "Barnes, Dwight, you find a good vantage point?" Englewood spoke into his radio. Static filled the radio, the voice of Barnes came through, "probably not the best spot, were both sitting in a tree. We'll have to move closer once you get past the camps" the radio cackled. "Ok, we will let you know when the time comes." Englewood replied. The four crept forward towards the camp. The sun had finally set and darkness began to fill the woods. The camp seemed nearly deserted, only a few Sangheili who were out, cleaning or cooking. Sneaking their way through slowly, making their best efforts to not get spotted. They came across an elder Sangheili, sat by himself outside, whittling away at a small piece of wood. "He's blocking our only way through," Englewood said. "Take him out, non-lethal" he continued. Jared snuck up behind the Sangheili and wrapped his arm around his neck. The Sangheili began to struggle, his strength beginning to outweigh Jared's own, pulling Jared's arm off his throat, the elder began to beg for his life. "Please don't take me, I don't want to die!" he exclaimed, eventually Jared regained his grip and started to choke the elder. The strength of the Sangheili began to weaken and eventually he had passed out. Loosening his grip, the Sangheili fell to the ground with a heavy thud. The others showed up behind Jared, "what is going on here? Are these like death camps or something?" Nelson whispered as he helped pull the Sangheili into the darkness. "Let's continue," Englewood said. "We're almost out of the camp area and to the outer rim of the city. Barnes and Dwight, find a better spotting point" he said into the radio. "Negative enemies are directly below us and advancing on your location. Find cover ASAP" Barnes whispered into his radio, his voice being amplified through their helmets' speakers. Instinctively they entered the tent the elder had sat in front of, dragging him inside with them.

The dimly lit tent barely had enough room to house the five of them. "What do we do now?" Cook whispered to the others. Jared opened his mouth but was silenced by the sound of footsteps outside the tent. Everyone remained quiet, the footsteps began to fade. The Sangheili began to mumble, he was waking up. "Knock him the fuck back out" Jared whispered, the footsteps stopped, "what was that?" a voice outside the tent said. "Barnes do you have a shot on the elites outside?" Englewood whispered. "I have a clear enough view, i can get one but the second I fire, the ones below me will be aware of our position," he replied. The elder Sangheili raised his hands to cover his face, Jared pulled them down and pointed his pistol at his head. "Say a word and you'll have a hole in your skull" he whispered. He threw his hands above his head and shook his head. The footsteps approached the tent "where did that noise come from?" the voice outside said. "Could've just been someone in their tent" another spoke. All four sighed in relief as the sound of footsteps retreated away. "Now then, can we trust you not to say a word, or should we go ahead and get this over with?" Jared said, pulling the slide back and inspecting the round inside the chamber, emphasizing the possibility of shooting him. "Not a word" he whispered, "please save us" he finished. The begging for help threw Jared off, "what exactly is going on here?" Jared asked, lowering his pistol. "These could pass like death camps" he exclaimed "they kicked us out and we made our homes here, then they came and started killing us." he finished. Nelson took a peek out the tent "they're gone, now would be the time to move" he said. A sigh of relief came from both Jared and Englewood "push on to the center" Englewood said as he exited the tent, the rest followed closely behind.

The tents faded away and they entered the main city. As they passed from small alley to alley, the empty sand covered roads made the city seem like a ghost town. "Where are all the people?" Nelson whispered as they came to a halt before crossing another street. "Either asleep or in that camp back there" Jared said as he watched the street as the Sargent ran across the street. Jared checked both ways then ran, Nelson ran across, and then Cook. "Barnes, Dwight. Where are you two?" Englewood asked. "Holed up in an empty house, we don't see anyone for quite a while." one said over the radio. "Implying there is someone up ahead?" he asked. The radio remained silent for a few seconds. "From what we can see there's only a few outside in the center of the city, it's like they have no intentions of guarding this area." they responded. " _Why would they be guarding the outskirts but not the city itself?_ " Jared thought. " _It would appear the level of concern isn't with these people. Sympathizers of their cause perhaps?"_ Cato echoed through his head.

The look on everyone else's faces gave the same expression of confusion. Eventually they carried on into the city towards the suspected headquarters.

Making it nearly to the entrance they met resistance, guards began patrolling the streets and on top of rooftops, the level of security grew large in size in a matter of meters. Running into an open street with a few Sangheili on the roofs watching over the street created an issue. "We got three Sangheili above us, on the roofs. Might need some assistance" Englewood said. "Just give me the word and I'll drop them." Barnes said through the radio. He turned to Jared "gonna need that skill you showed the first day you came to Bdaoro" he said. He gave a sigh and lifted his battle rifle. "I got the one on the far side but i can't take out it's shields in burst." he said as he took aim on the Sangheilis head "i got his shields but as soon as they're down, take him out. We should be far enough away that they won't hear our shots. Especially with the silencer" he said lifting up his own weapon, a DMR. "on three. One, two, three" Englewood whispered, a bullet whizzed out of what seemed like nowhere and struck one in the neck. Simultaneously, the Sergeant fired, the sanghellis shield flickered and died. As soon as his silenced shot rang out, Jared fired and two of the three bullets landed, on in the chest and the second in the head. Both fell to the ground nearly in sync. "Could've been better" Jared said lowering his weapon "you hit 'em that all that matters, lets go" Englewood said and he crossed the street. Jared and the others followed behind.

Three guards stood outside the entrance to the suspected headquarters. "I'm going to assume this is the entrance to their nerve center." Nelson said looking through the sight on his weapon at the head of one of the elites. "There's gotta be a possible way inside without drawing attention to us or alerting them." he continued and lowered his weapon and sighed, looking around for any possible entrances. "Barnes" Englewood called over the radio, "see any possible entrances?" he continued. "I see one, a window on an adjacent building could provide a safe enough jump across." he said "just be advised, we cannot get a good enough angle to provide support once inside." he finished. "Here's the plan," Englewood said, turning to face the building Barnes had mentioned. "Jared and Nelson will infill through that building, Cook and I will keep guard beside the building to keep an eye on who comes in or leaves, if anything sketchy happens we'll let you know and we get the fuck out of here" he said turning back to the other three, who each nodded in agreement.

Turning back the road they had come down and going towards the back of the building they prepped to breach through the back door. Cook stacked at the front and Nelson behind him, followed by Englewood and then Jared, they slowly opened the door, which appeared to be made of plywood or an equivalent. The bottom floor covered in sand and dirt, silence filled the air as the swept the bottom floor before proceeding up the stairs. Atop the stairs was an open room with a single bed. Cook stopped everyone who followed him and turned his head to the others. "Beds not empty" he said, conveying his message in the least amount of words. As they creeped up the stairwell, both Cook and Nelson left their weapons pointed at the figure in the bed. "Englewood, check it." Jared said and he gave him an uneasy look. Inching closer he gripped the sheets and slowly pulled it back. A Sangheili man laid in the bed, Englewood looked back in confusion. "We can't just expect him not to wake up" he said, "got cuffs?" Jared asked. Englewood sighed and turned back to the Sangheili "sorry 'bout this buddy" he said pulling metal cuffs out of his bag, he grabbed his arm and began to move it behind his back, instantly he woke up. "What the-" he spoke, Englewood grabbed his mandibles and twisted them. "One word and you will be shot" he said, the Sangheili looked past him and saw three weapons trained on his skull. He remained silent and Englewood proceeded to place the handcuffs on him. Jared and Nelson moved towards the window and peered out of it, a window opposite to theirs was well lit, a narrow hallway lined the opposite side of the window. Jared stood on the ledge preparing to jump, "toss me my weapon after i cross" he handed his battle rifle to Nelson and then leaped across a six foot gap, gripping onto the ledge and pulling himself up, turning to grab his weapon, Nelson tossed it to him, then his own weapon. Nelson attempted the jump, gripping the ledge as well, Jared helped pull him up, he looked to the opposite window where Englewood stood, both nodding to each other then turning around.

"Onwards and outwards" Jared whispered to himself and began moving down the hallway, checking doors along the path, all of which seemed to be dark and empty. Soon they had made it to a stairwell that went both up and down. "Be ready, there could be anyone, or anything up here." Jared said to Nelson. " _Cato, can you access any systems inside this structure?_ " he thought, a shiver went down his back. " _There appear to be a few conscious bodies above you, there are easily 10 others who are currently sleeping_ " she responded.

Englewood turned to the Sangheili and crouched down, the Sangheili now sitting up against the wall. "Who are you?" he asked, the Sangheili looked up at him, "I'm just a nobody" still half asleep, he mumbled over his words. "Well from what we've seen, there's nearly nobody in this city. So tell me, who are you before this turns uncomfortable" he said, reading his gloves. "They have the ones they sent away, others fled, some of us stayed. The ones who did stayed out of either fear or loyalty." he said lowering his head. Englewood stood up "keep an eye on him, no tricks or shit, he tries to stand, shoot him, he insults you, shoot him. Were not here for friends, I'm searching the room and keeping watch" he said as he began searching the room. Under the bed was a hidden trap door, he opened it and pulled out a book that was stashed inside. "What's this?" he asked, the Sangheili now wide awake shifted, Cook tightened his grip and threatened the male. "Seems important? Clearly someone who takes a book seriously has got something to hide." he said opening the book. The first few pages were covered in drawings. Then writing

The Hand of Prophecy came and took my son and my wife has been missing since yesterday. I pray they haven't done anything to her.

I found out from other people that they take the young ones to train them into their own army. And the women are used. What kind of sick monsters would do this? Our species was known and respected for our loyalty and respect. Now we are treated worse than anyone else by our own people

I plan to get answers tomorrow, try to get them both back if I can.

I saw Khoga today at the open field above the cliffs, he didn't even recognize me. What have they done to my son?

The pages stopped after the fifth page. Englewood looked at the Sangheili, who now was fighting not to fall asleep on them. "What are they doing here?" he asked him, placing the book on the bed. "If you didn't get out on time, they took everyone" he paused "everything, from you." he said before he drifted back to sleep. Englewood kicked him lightly and he jolted back awake. "Why are you so damn tired?" he asked the Sangheili "I don't get much sleep. They don't know I'm here, at least I hope they still don't" he said.

Jared continued up the stairwell with Nelson nearly attached to his back. Entering another hallway they began searching. The closest room was lit, Jared peeked inside and saw two Sangheilis talking quietly amongst themselves. Jared held up two fingers and pointed in the room. Jared set down his rifle and unholstered his pistol and crouched down, and moved into the room, both seemed to be unaware of his presence as they faced towards a table away from the door. Nelson followed up behind him, pulling his knife out. 'Don't kill 'em' Jared mouthed to Nelson who put his knife away. As they snuck up on them both, Jared counted down and suddenly they both wrapped their arms around the elites' necks. The strength of the arms from the one Jared held nearly threw him of it's back, Jared wrapped his legs around the elite pulling tighter, struggling to keep control so the elite didn't hit anything and wake the others up they finally toppled to the floor with a thud. Nelson, still fighting to keep a grip on the one he was trying to choke out, Jared ran into them, sending them to the floor, and began punching the elite in the head. The elite threw Jared off and sent him across the room, attempting to stand up he grabbed his pistol which had flown from his hands and aimed it at the elites head. He began to squeeze the trigger, the elite lost consciousness and Jared dropped the pistol. "Thank fuck" he said quietly and holstered his pistol. "We gotta tie them up" he said "why not just kill them?" Nelson replied. "Too much blood to work with here. If we're killing them it's snapping their necks to which i'm not sure if it's possible" he replied. Nelson picked up the elites head and twisted it quickly, a solid crunch came from the base of its spine. "Guess we'll find out." he said, lifting up the other one's head and repeating the same action. Jared ignored what he'd just done and began searching for any sort of information possible. Stacks of papers found in drawers, more folders and data pads. Jared grabbed what he could and stuffed them in his bag. He came across a data pad laying on the table with multiple folders on it, each one written in sangheili followed by ascending roman numerals "seems like they did learn something from us, of all things roman numerals" jared said putting it in his bag and closing it. "Let's get out of here before the other sangheili wake" Jared said and proceeded down the stairs and down the hallway to the window. "Englewood" Jared called out, Cook came to the window "catch" he said, tossing the bag across the gap and then his weapon. Jared leaned out the window and jumped. "Stop!" a voice called out. "Shit, I should have looked," Jared said grabbing his rifle and leaning over the window ledge, aiming and looking for an elite and then firing two bursts at the suspected elite. One volley landed but the second missed, depleting his shields and making the elite stagger back into cover. "Nelson let's go!" Cook yelled out to him

Nelson threw his weapon over and then prepared to leap over. A whiz flew past Jared and Nelson yelped in pain as he flew in the air. Jared outstretched his arm to grab his arm but missed, Nelson fell to the ground. Jared leaned over the ledge and saw Nelson laying with a bright pink needle sticking out from his leg. Suddenly the shard exploded violently ripping his leg from his body. Jared looked up to see an elite down the hallway they had come from. He lifted his rifle and began shooting down the hallway. Bullets ripped through it's shields and caught it in the knee, sending it to the ground. "Nelson's down!" Jared called out to the others. Englewood, who was watching their escape route, now shifted to look over the ledge where Nelson laid. "Jesus Christ, we gotta get him out of there," Englewood said. "He's right beside the door, Cook and I can run out and pull him in, keep an eye on him." he said pointing to the sangheili who was still leaning against the wall. "Barnes can you see the elites?" he asked over the radio. "Barely, i might be able to get a few shots in, it'll be threading the needle" he responded. "Anything better than nothing, cover us. We're going to get Nelson." he replied and ran down the stairs to the first floor. Jared looked at the sangheili then at the window.

Barnes fired four shots between the space between the two buildings, he could just barely see past the corner of the building, pushing them further and further back, he reloaded and took aim. Looking down at his sight he saw an elite trying to inch closer to the corner and fired, the round went clean through it's shields and it's skull, dropping like a fly.

Watching the elites body fall past the corner of the building, Englewood kicked the front door open and grabbed Nelson by his collar and drug him inside. "Jared lets go!" he yelled up the stairs.

Jared looked at the sangheili "you're coming with us" he said telling him to stand up. "Mind telling me your name?" he asked as he stood "Zoso 'Nusam, i am a nobody" he said. "Well congratulations Zoso 'Nusam, you're being liberated." Jared said, leading him down the stairs "interesting way to liberate someone" he said back. "What are you doing with him?" Englewood asked "we don't have time to deal with him" he protested he said looking out a crack in the door and firing a few shots. "He's an asset" Jared said, "he stays with us" he finished making his way to the door. Cook picked Nelson's body off the floor and put him over his shoulders. Jared threw the door open and glanced down both ways down the street, despite the gunfire just minutes prior, the roads were completely silent. Before he could cross sirens started wailing, "well now they all know you are here" Zoso said "quiet, go" Jared responded grabbing Zoso's arm and running across the street. Cook ran across, carrying Nelson on his shoulder, and then Englewood. "We don't have time to deal with him," Englewood said, pointing to Zoso 'Nusam. "We have to get Nelson back, he's already lost a lot of blood" he continued changing his view from the sangheili to Cook and Nelson. "I can carry him" Zoso said, trying to gesture to Cook who already looked exhausted from carrying him across the street. "Put the cuffs in front, i still don't trust him but at this point it's our only option." Englewood said undoing one of the cuffs and moving his hands in front of him, Zoso gave no resistance as he did so, still annoyed to be in handcuffs but glad he could feel his arms again. Zoso grabbed Nelson from Cook and put him over his shoulder, the blood from his missing leg oozed down his plainclothes, he sighed in disgust "you offered, now let's go" Jared urged. They began running and the sirens faded. "Barnes get the Warthog ready, we're going to need a quick escape." The Sargent said as they crossed another street, no time for the tacticalities of crossing one by one. Crossing one street, streams of green plasma struck the ground. A loud crack echoed and the elite that fired fell off the building he stood. "Copy, on our way back" Barnes said over the radio.

After running past road after road they reached the end of the buildings, the sirens a faint tear in the night sky, a ten foot wide gap stood between them and the camps. The number of patrolling guards seemed to multiply tenfold. Jared readjusted the sight on his rifle, scanning the forest floor for any unguarded areas. "I don't think we'll be able to get through without getting caught. But stealth is almost out the window" he said lowering his rifle and giving a defeated sigh. "We could go in guns blazing, or make an attempt to execute anyone who gets in our way." Cook said pulling out his knife. "I'd much rather not draw more attention to ourselves." Jared responded. "Despite your expected best efforts, we are going to have to kill some if we want to get through." Cook said taking a step forward in defense. "Don't make me pull rank here, this mission wasn't supposed to go down this way and I can guarantee you that the siege attempt of this place isn't going to go well either." Jared said, Jared still hated his rank but if he was the one running the show, he was going to assure it stayed under his control. "Would you two just shut up for a second and think like actual adults?" Englewood said and peered out a crack in the door, ensuring nobody heard them. "We will just have to be slow and silent through. If we run into a guard and have to cross that bridge, then we will. But for now, stay quiet and stay low" he said opening the door and making a run for it behind a tent. Cook looked at Jared angrily and ran. Jared looked at Zoso and gave a disappointed sigh "after you" Jared said to him. Zoso charged out, trying to keep a grip on Nelson on his shoulder, Jared followed shortly after.

Ducked behind trees and makeshift tents "were going to have to split up, we've got no sniper cover, you get caught, you gotta deal with it yourselves" Englewood said and slipped into the shadows, cook followed in his footsteps. "You're still sticking with me" Jared whispered to the sangheili, Zoso nodded with a grunt. He began sneaking through the forest, ducking past tents and through trees. Zoso followed in his footsteps. Jared didn't trust him behind him, but with all things considered, Jared didn't have much of a choice to have him behind him. Though uncomfortable of the situation, Jared continued through the treeline and the scattered tents. Zoso followed close behind. "Shit, one ahead of us" Jared said as he readied his rifle. "Wait" the sangheili said, placing the limp body of Nelson on the ground. "You'll only attract more attention" he said as he stood up and picked a rock up almost as big as Jared's chest and charged at the Elite, smashing the rock into its head. The shield flickered as the rock slammed against his head, sending him to the floor. Zoso continued to hit his head until the Elites body fell completely limp. He dropped the rock, his shoulders lifted and dropped from his heavy breathing. He turned around and picked Nelson up. Now covered in blue and red blood he insisted they continued forward. They continued towards the rendezvous point.

Making it back after the others had returned both Barnes and Dwight both looked equally as pissed off as they were impressed. "Why is he here and why is he carrying Nelson?" Dwight said taking Nelson off Zoso and carried his body towards the Warthog. "He's on our side" Jared said defiantly. Dwight turned around and attempted to punch Jared but Barnes jumped in the way. "It's not worth it man, it ain't his fault" he said and he pulled him back. Jared stood like stone as he pulled him back. "He is sangheili, he is the enemy!" he yelled out as Barnes pulled him behind the Warthog. Though Jared defended the Sangheili, he didn't trust him just yet, Jared looked at Zoso, his head bowed low. Seeming he already knew his stance on him. They all loaded up, Englewood drove with Dwight beside him, the rest sat in the back. Nelson beside Cook and Jared beside Zoso. Nobody said a word for the first few hours. But the ride was long and eventually everyone began talking. Zoso took out his book and began writing with the small charcoal pen inside. Jared didn't bother to look, he wasn't one to meddle in others businesses unless he had no choice. He, out of curiosity would glance over but couldn't make up what he was writing about. Jared let out a sigh and closed his eyes for some rest


End file.
